Firefighters battle boat fire near Cutty Sark in Greenwich

Three of London’s fire stations sent crews to respond to a fire near to the historic Cutty Sark clipper ship at Greenwich Pier yesterday.

Fire engines from Greenwich, East Greenwich and Lewisham fire stations battled the fire, and the London fire boat was also deployed.

The fire took place on a passenger ferry near Cutty Sark gardens at 12:15pm and the 20 firefighters on scene managed to control the fire within an hour.

The cause of the fire is under investigation according to a statement released by the London Fire Brigade.

The Cutty Sark on fire in 2007.

A fire tore through the historic tea clipper Cutty Sark in 2007. At the time, the ship was undergoing conservation and restoration work.

After an estimated £35 million in restoration work — between £5-10 million from the fire alone — the ship reopened to the public.

Another small fire broke out on board the museum ship in 2014 but was quickly contained by the London Fire Brigade.

The Cutty Sark, built in 1869, was one of the fastest, and final, tea clippers to make the tea run from Britain to China and back. With regular use of the Suez Canal by steam freighters, the Cutty Sark began work in the wool trade, making trips between Britain and Australia. She set and held a record time for the return trip from Australia to the UK for 10 years.